Five-day fever for '82
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A FIVE-DAY working week has been resumed at Seddon Atkinson due to increased orders. The company had been on a three-day week because of the sharp rise in interest rates, but now reports a "snowball effect" in demand.
The outlook for other British manufacturers is also fairly bright. Hestair Dennis still has all its employees on a full working week, with no backlog of unsold vehicles.
A spokesman for Sandbach Engineering told CM that business was going well, with everyone on a five-day week. Bedford light vehicles are doing well, with most of the employees on a five-day week, but the heavier vehicles are not doing so well, forcing work down to a four-day week. It has no backlog of unsold vehicles.
Leyland has started the year off well, with most of its workers on a five-day week. The only notable exception to this is its Bathgate plant where 20 per cent of the workforce is on a threeor four-day week, a spokesman told CM.
Seddon Atkinson's number of unsold vehicles currently stands at 50, and it hopes that it will stay around this level. With a low number of stocks, Seddon believes the prices of vehicles will remain firm.